A system patented by Walmart aims to address one of the top drawbacks for would-be online shoppers: the desire to pick their own produce.

The “Fresh Online Experience,” a process Walmart outlined in a patent published Dec. 28, would allow consumers to remotely approve or reject specific produce items prepared for online orders. The service could be used for other fresh items as well.

When placing an order, consumers could select which items to confirm. Once two-dimensional or three-dimensional photos of the produce have been sent, the consumer has a set amount of time to approve or reject the items.

Walmart explained its rationale for the system — for which fulfillment could be manual or automated — in the background section of patent.

“A customer when visiting a retail store can inspect and choose produce that seems to look like the highest quality,” the company stated in the document. “However, a customer who orders the same item from a retail store website for grocery pickup and/or delivery has to rely on the store associate to choose the actual item to be delivered. They may be dissatisfied with the result.

“It is desirable for the customer to be able to request images of the item in the retail store, so that the customer can be satisfied with their online purchase,” Walmart stated.

The company has patented numerous other ideas over the years that have not been deployed. E-commerce, however, has been a major area of growth for Walmart, and inability to inspect produce and other fresh item is one of the most cited reasons people give for not grocery shopping online.

USF Career Services presents Spring 2018 Career Fair Week! Be sure to stop by and talk to employees of the official transportation provider of your USF Bulls athletics, ReedTMS Logistics! Each fair is a great way to network face-to-face with local and national employers interested in hiring USF students and graduates for full-time, co-op and internship positions.

Career Fair Week is sponsored in cooperation with the USF Alumni Association. Career Fair Week events are exclusively for USF students, with valid student ID, and alumni (please bring a current resume that includes your USF degree information).

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Meet in person with representatives from top organizations from around the country

Discuss employment openings with employers.

Distribute your resume so be sure to bring lots of copies!

Share your qualifications, skills, and academic background.

Network as you obtain company information and business cards of the organizations that interest you.

Responding to big demand, monthly average truck rates for refrigerated freight climbed again in December to reach an all-time high, according to the DAT Freight Index.

The monthly national averages for both dry and refrigerated (“reefer”) van rates were the highest of 2017, according to the index.

Spot truckload van rates averaged $2.11 per mile nationally, up 4 cents compared to November and the highest monthly average since DAT started tracking freight rates in 2010, according to the release.

The average reefer rate for December was $2.46 per mile, 3 cents higher than the November average and another all-time high, according to the release.

The availability of truckload freight in December was bolstered by retail shipments, demand for fresh and frozen foods, and e-commerce fulfillment, according to the release. Available truckload freight was 25% higher than in December 2016.

However, overall freight volume in December fell 3% compared to a strong November, according to the release. Some of the factors in that decline were inclement weather in parts of the U.S and the Dec. 18 electronic logging device mandate. That combination of strains on equipment and drivers meant that shippers and freight brokers paid premiums for available trucks, according to the release.

After nearly a year’s delay, Amazon Go is finally opening to the public on Monday morning.

Amazon‘s first automated grocery store promises “no lines, no checkouts, no registers” — and it could be a game-changer for the grocery and retail industry.

It’ll test whether the technology can deliver after reports that the automated check-out technology wasn’t working as planned early in 2017. It will raise questions of job creation and destruction by the e-commerce giant, and it’ll test whether consumers will warm to an omnichannel, technologically advanced retail experience.

The single 1,800 square foot located in the middle of Amazon’s Seattle campus was first unveiled in late 2016, and was supposed to open to the public in early 2017, according to the website.

Yet until now, it has remained in beta mode for Amazon employees only, reportedly due to the very thing that makes it so interesting: Technology that eliminates the cashier.

Amazon calls it “Just Walk Out” technology and it uses computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion — many of the same advances being used to develop autonomous driving.

Jason Redmond | Reuters

Amazon employees are pictured outside the Amazon Go brick-and-mortar grocery store without lines or checkout counters, in Seattle Washington, U.S. December 5, 2016.

For customers, it’s simple: Scan your Amazon Go app as you walk into the store, pick up whatever you want, and simply walk out.

On the back-end, Amazon’s technology detects everything you’re taking or returning to shelves, and keeping track in a virtual shopping cart. When you walk out, Amazon charges your account and sends a receipt.

For now, Amazon is testing the concept on a limited basis and has no plans to implement the technology in Whole Foods. But an expansion of Amazon’s grocery technology could have enormous implications.

According to the Department of Labor, more than 3.5 million Americans held cashier jobs as of May 2016. Nearly 900,000 of those were in grocery stores. The Amazon Go store eliminates the need for cashiers, and could thus make thousands of jobs redundant. Amazon Go does hire people to work in the store — a team of “associates” who prep ingredients, make prepared items, greet customers and stock shelves.

Still, it could prove a tricky subject, given the current administration’s focus on creating jobs in America and President Donald Trump’s contentious relationship with Jeff Bezos.

In e-commerce, Amazon has already been investing heavily in automation, running the gamut from delivery drones to warehouse robots. At the same time, it’s been hiring thousands of new employees each year, growing headcount by 40 percent year over year.

With its purchase of Whole Foods last year for nearly $14 billion, it became the second biggest private employer in the country behind Walmart. However, an analysis published by Quartz last year looked at employment data for the retail industry as a whole and found that Amazon’s growth and hiring numbers don’t offset the overall retail job losses that it has helped cause.

The ReedTMS team prides itself on caring about our drivers needs. One major challenge for our drivers is finding time to heat or reheat food on the go.

We would like to congratulate Kevin L. (pictured in the center), one of ReedTMS Logistics’ Top Drivers, on continuing to make our company look AWESOME in front of our shipper customers!

Kudos also to Bernie Youngblood, President of Hot Logic, for sponsoring the gift that will give some of our top performing drivers FREE HotLogic Mini 3-in-1 Electric Lunchbox’s to help cook food on the go and in the truck!

Based in Beautiful, Sunny Tampa, Florida — ReedTMS is an asset-based third-party logistics provider comprised of Reed Transport Services, Inc. and TMS Logistics, Inc. Reed Transport provides brokerage and freight management services throughout the continental United States, Canada and Mexico. Our family-owned and operated business maintains the highest level of communication possible. Each customer is assigned a highly-trained logistics team to provide streamlined, proactive communication to ensure complete consistency.

Our Service Promise –

We strive to provide the highest quality service at all times. We are committed to a professionally handled transportation experience accomplished by understanding and delivering on and above expectations.

Tampa, Fla. (Jan. 17, 2018) – ReedTMS, a leading asset-based third party logistics provider announced its third annual carrier awards today. ReedTMS Logistics prides itself on successfully meeting and exceeding customer requirements and credits its success in large part due to the relationships it has built with a diverse group of carriers. Two decades of experience has helped to transform ReedTMS from a small startup venture to a leading organization within the logistics industry.

The following carriers are nominated by ReedTMS Logistics operations team members. Nominated service providers are then evaluated on a multitude of performance metrics that include: service quality and performance, on-time service, capacity and pricing, and overall commitment to the partnership.

The 2017 Flatbed Carrier of the year winner was presented to DP USA Trucking Inc

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Flatbed Service was presented to JJB Logistics Inc

The 2017 Dry Van Carrier of the year was presented to R & R Elite Trucking

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Dry Van Service was presented to Bridgestone America’s Fleet Operations

The 2017 Refrigerated Van Service winner was presented to CALIFORNIA EXPRESS LINES LLC

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Refrigerated Van Service was presented to Darngavil Enterprises LLC

“It brings us great pleasure to recognize some of our carrier partners who exemplify what it means to go above and beyond in an industry as diverse as ours,” said Jason Reed, CEO of ReedTMS Logistics. “The continued success of our business is reliant on great relationships like the ones we have forged with these terrific companies.”

ReedTMS Logistics supports its more than 25,000 carriers with high volume and quality truck loads, timely payment, an in-depth understanding of their business, ease of doing business and most importantly a customer-centric operations staff.

About ReedTMS Logistics
Established in 2010, ReedTMS Logistics is an asset-based third-party logistics provider compromised of Reed Transport Services, Inc. and TMS Logistics, Inc. The two companies offer a wide array of transportation services to customers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla. with offices in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin and Ashland, Ohio. Founded in 1996, Reed Transport offers high-quality brokerage and freight management services. Founded in 1997, TMS Logistics is a multimode carrier specializing in dry van, dedicated fleet services. For more information, visit www.ReedTMS.com